In brief: Bill would improve customer service when tolls challenged
OLYMPIA – Motorists who get a toll bill for a bridge they didn’t cross or a highway they didn’t use would get a letter of apology from the state agency if it doesn’t properly respond to their appeals, under a bill that passed the House on Tuesday.
The Department of Transportation’s tolling agency would also contact the people who appeal a challenged toll by phone, mail or email. House Transportation Committee Chairwoman Judy Clibborn said it will move the state toward the civility that all agencies should have when they make a mistake.
“Your agency should send a letter of apology,” Clibborn said. “It’s about being a better agency.”
Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, who proposed the amendment requiring the apology when the tolling agency makes an error, said it was prompted in part by the experience of Dennis and Shirley Wendlandt, a Spokane couple who received a bill for their trailer crossing the 520 bridge when the trailer had been in their front yard. The agency dropped the bill after a column by Doug Clark appeared in The Spokesman-Review.
Reward offered for threats to school
Crime Stoppers of the Inland Northwest is offering a cash reward for anyone providing information leading to the arrest of anyone involved with the recent threats received at University High School, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
On Monday, for the fourth time in two weeks, authorities evacuated University High School following a bomb threat. Students returned to classes after deputies searched the building and found nothing.
Information can be given at (800) 222-TIPS, or online at www.crimestoppersinlandnorthwest.org.
Tipsters do not have to give their name to collect the cash reward.
Tornado lifts Jeep 8 feet into the air
EUGENE – A small tornado that touched down Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of a community college campus briefly lifted two people in a Jeep Cherokee into the air, then slammed the vehicle back down on its tires, witnesses said.
Student Josh Hollowell was between classes at Lane Community College’s main campus when he saw the twister touch down, hitting four vehicles in the parking lot.
“No injuries at all. We were very lucky,” college spokeswoman Joan Aschim said.
Both Hollowell and a campus safety officer, Sgt. Lisa Rupp, estimated the Jeep was lifted about 8 feet off the ground.
National Weather Service meteorologist Jeremiah Pyle in Portland said witness accounts and numerous photographs convinced meteorologists that a tornado did occur shortly after 4 p.m.
Typically, winds must reach at least 70 mph to lift vehicles off the ground. Based on preliminary information, this tornado may have involved winds in the range of 70 to 110 mph, Weather Service meteorologist David Elson said.
The tornado is only the seventh recorded in Lane County since 1950.
Eugene is about 100 miles south of Portland.